The ECHO, Volume 92, Number 10, November 2020 Page: 3
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The ECHO
3
November 2020
Thoughts on pessimism and negativity
Lisa Jackson — Contributing Writer, Murray Unit
99
a
lb
When I broke all 10 of my toes, my father
Free man struggles with new role in life
Forward
bad you can’t call it into action like Siri, or an Alexa
Ruben Constants Jr.
ECHO Contributor, Released
MY
Let’s
For more information on Ruben’s mission,
write to:
In the Real World:
So, let’s run through this one time. Experience
Simulator: You’ve thought of everything. Calculated
Blueprints for Living Ministries Inc.
P.O. Box 1465
San Marcos, TX 78667
N
Go ahead and plug in the counterfeit “father”
you followed. It could have been drugs, money,
women, or even work. Whatever you were intimately
associated with is what you became. Roles in life flow
from identities we form. Hence why having a sound
and emotionally present father is crucial to a child’s
overall development.
I often tell men and women I mentor through our
DMP (Distance Mentorship Program) that entering
society is a culture shock. Just as we were shocked
upon entering a new- prison world, so, too, are we
shocked when we are released from it. And the shock
so
have to come back for more casts and bingo:
another bill!”
My mother once took the car in for a tune-up.
X A Tebster’s Dictionary describes a pessimist
VV as one who tends to a negative view. My
Just as we were shocked upon
entering a new prison world, so,
too, are we shocked when we are
released from it.
Playing it all the
way to the end
John Pippen — ECHO Staff
A FEW MONTHS AGO, A COWORKER ASKED ME WHAT
JLJkthe hardest thing was I encountered after my
release from prison, and I immediately told them, “I
struggled with my new role out here.” They gave me
a puzzled look, so I explained to them what you are
about to read.
When another brother named Jason Cole and I
preached a firestorm at the Torres Unit in 2011, we wrote
a book afterwards called The Book with No Title (it’s
kinda’ like a man with no purpose). We learned that for
someone to fulfill their God-given purpose (whatever it
may be), they must know their identity first. And that
identity can only come from intimacy with our Creator.
Jason and I call it “The Fatherhood Principle.”
There’s a purpose-seeking craze going on in many
prison churches and faith-based programs right now,
which is an incredibly good thing. But before purpose
is revealed, an identity must be conferred, and that
identity can only become known when we draw
near to our Creator in intimate fellowship. There is
no other way for a person to know what they were
created to be and do.
If you try to bypass any part of this process, you
will come up with a counterfeit purpose. You will
have discovered your own way of living, instead of
the Creator revealing your personal design. And we
all know7 what happens when we invent our own ways
of living. We always get into some type of trouble!
Take a close look at the way it works, and you’ll
see how badly we’ve fallen from our original intent.
For example, if I identify myself with a certain group
of people, then those people will confer onto me a
purpose. It will work like this:
1. The group becomes my “father;”
2. I begin to walk intimately
with my father;
3. He imparts to me his identity; and
4. I begin to aim for the things
that serve his end.
because I was determined to unlearn every bad belief f '
I had developed prior to my incarceration and relearn time to occupy
Editor’s Note: With 10 books in print, Ruben
continues to serve the needs of the incarcerated
I’ll tell you what it makes...it makes me hungry...all
this “word salad,” blah blah—whatever!
“Hey cortex—stop me from putting this half bag
o----------------------— Corrections for Matthew Gaines Article: ------------------------o
r 'V I
So howdid all this affect me? I admit to a
lifetime of deflecting responsibility, proclaiming
I had nothing but bad luck and declining new
experiences because I said I’d only fail.
If anyone can relate to this story, let me tell you
that the glass does not always have to be half empty.
Good and bad things happen to everyone, and
no one has an exclusive deal on bad luck. Let me
reassure you that you don’t have to let negativity
rule your life. Your blessing could be moments
away or right around the corner. In the meantime,
You pick up one end of the
stick—you pick up the other.
smart speaker. “Hey Cortex—please stop me from
driving to Vegas and marrying the beautiful woman 1
whatever I choose whenever I choose to say’ it.” And me^ night after I misspelled the tattoo of her
this is true-only I couldn’t choose what ’happened name on W neck-” Just this one intervention would
after I said it-the other end of the stick. You pick up have saved me a lot of problems...and court costs.
one end-you pick up the other as well. Impact Bias: As it turns out, this is an actual
Before we get started, let’s familiarize ourselves with phrase. It’s the term used when the simulator works
a few terms real fast so that we’re all on the same page. badly...making you believe that different outcomes
Experience Simulator: Otherwise known as J .
an entirely new mindset. Success followed me as a
result. That’s when I discovered that the roles and
positions we occupy flow- from the identities we form.
Whoever and whatever you think y ou are is what you population. From publishing books, to mentoring
wall pursue. men an^ women behind bars, to reaching
I was no longer a Little Caesars pizza delivery boy communities with a transforming message, he
or a Taco Bell assistant manager. I w as now a Bible says he takes no greater joy than helping others
teacher, a program creator, a mentor, a waiter, and discover meaning, purpose, and direction when
a public educator. My roles had changed and were life seems hopeless.
commiserate with my new identity in Christ.
But something happened when 1 was released.
I entered a new world that didn’t know me, and I
struggled to find a position that would allow me
to exercise all the strengths I had developed while
incarcerated. No problem, 1 had thought. Just apply
everything you learned, Ruben. However, while
applying the principles I had learned in prison
came naturally due to my practicing them for years
in the system, 1 grew- discouraged because my role
had changed. I couldn’t do what I had been used to
doing for so long.
For over a decade at Torres, 1 served in various roles
with ease, but now that I had entered a new' world,
those roles were gone. I had foolishly thought 1 would
immediately occupy a position out here that would
allow- me to serve in the roles I had been accustomed
to for so long. But when those positions were now here
to be found, I was disheartened. I felt God had let me
down — I even “backslid” for about nine months!
Eventually, I got back on track. I realized that while
my role had changed out here, my identity in Christ
was fixed and immovable. I had to readjust my focus
and adapt to my new world. And slowly, through a
series of positive decisions and plenty of hard work, I
am now occupying the roles that flow naturally from
my new identity.
So, go ahead and get educated, pursue righteousness,
develop positive attitudes, and renew your mind
is mostly felt deeply within the soul - in this thing we entirely, but remember that you won’t instantly jump
call identity. into your own Superman suit and rescue the day. We
When I served my 18 years, I developed a new never get good at anything overnight. Improvement
identity in my relationship to God. I immersed myself requires intense discipline and an unyielding
in as much academic and religious training as I could dedication to pressing forward - no matter the cost.
Roles flow from identities—yes—but they take
| Here ( r
• vwwc • ••‘•y ■ '•a' ■< •< ‘w -.»%• -v
talk about freedom.
You may think a prison is a strange place to expound
on the concept of freedom, but we face it many times
myself hitting the rocks below and know ahead of our psychological immune system. Other times it is
time that this was a terrible idea. None of our pre- known as just being straight up delusional.
historic ancestors could do this trick and no other
animal can either. Uniquely human is the pre-frontal
cortex—right up there with opposable thumbs and
walking upright on two legs.
Impulse Modifier: Actually, I just made up that all the risk factors, and visualized the entire process
phrase, but I wish there really wras such a thing—it all the way to end. You’ve made your decision. You’re
would have saved me a lot of trouble over the years. The riding with the Dallas Cowboys this week. Impulse
pre-frontal cortex is supposed to act as one, letting us Modifier: Everything in your being is screaming,
visualize an outcome before actually taking action, in “You’re an idiot-don’t do it! For once stop putting
_____ _____? theory this would help regulate bad impulsive decision- yourself through this.” Impact Bias: If it wasn’t for
throughout our day; mainly in the form of choice, making, but it doesn’t always seem to be on-line. Too that bad call and two missed field goals, they wouldn’t
Our human brains calculate and make choices by the bad You cancak 'nfo ac^on Siri, or an Alexa have jia(j t0 g0 for on fourth and twenty-six. Besides,
thousands, which in turn, our bodies put into action. Qne game, and the Super Bowl is in Tampa
Herein lies our limitation. While we are free to choose YOU pick Up OHG ©nd Of th© this year...we’ll be there. I think vou can see where this
ouractions,wearenotfreetochoosetheconsequences ctirk_unl, nirk lin tho nthor isaligoing.
of those actions: If you pick up one end of the stick,
you pick the other.”
This was a hard concept for me to come to terms
with. For example, I would say to myself, “This is
America, we have freedom of speech, and 1 can say
When w-e got the car back, mother pulled out into
the street and was hit by a city bus. My mother made
quite a scene once the police arrived, ranting and
raving how the car shop had deliberately tampered
When tax time came around, my father was at with her brakes so she’d have to come back for them
his best. For days on end we would eat nothing but to be fixed. Truth was, mother was a poor driver
beans. He said the government was getting rich off and had many accidents that she explained as “not
the worki ng cl ass and we had to be prepared for the my fault.’
parents’ photo should have accompanied that next Great Depression.
definition.
Growing up in the Pacific Northwest meant lots of
rainy days producing puddles perfect to jump in— \
which 1 mostly did barefoot. When I arrived home,
my mother went on a rampage concerning how I’d
11Mil
Vzv T A
catch several deadly diseases from rainwater and » jTDc
proceeded to fill me w ith countless home remedy
potions to try to save my life.
My father w-as much better at gloom and doom. If
I asked him for a dollar he would wearily reach into com rented, “Don’t you know how much it costs
his wallet for the lone single (I found out later in to 10 toes? Couldn’t you have broken just one? join me in being grateful that there is a roof over
life he kept the bulk of his bills in his pocket) and They’ll probably water down the plaster so you’ll my head, clothes on my back, food in my stomach,
exasperatingly comment that I might as well take have to come back for more casts and bingo: and medical care close at hand. It takes way less
the last dollar—for we were only one step away another bill!” energy to be optimistic —and you’ll feel better in
from the poor house, anyway. My mother once took the car in for a tune-up. the end. W
Each month, The ECHO features articles from contributing writers within TDCJ, as well as from those who have
been released and want to send hope and insight back inside. This page features a variety of columnists. Enjoy!
The Takeaway:
Use your head, or more precisely—your pre-frontal
cortex. Think it through, play it all the way to the
end. Visualize it before acting on it. Someone wrote
in The ECHO awhile back that you could only control
four things: what you think, what you say, what you
feel, and what you do. I disagree with that. You cant
control how7 you feel. At least I can’t. We can control
the actions—not the feelings—but w?e can stop the
are more different in fact than they really are. This feelings from controlling our actions. Make sense?
the prefrontal cortex. Pilots have flight simulators; can work both ways. It can work to your detriment
we have the pre-frontal cortex. As humans we can by making you think all is well as your entire life
actually have experiences in our head before they implodes for everyone to see...except you of course.
happen in real life. Game it out...see the next move. I Or it can protect you from loss or failure, lessening the of corn chips and two ranch dressings in my ramen
don’t have to jump off a cliff to find out what a bad idea impact and intensity, and speeding up recovery time noodles. On the other hand: just try and stop me. You
it was to do so. I can play it out in my head, visualize from said experience. Sometimes this is referred to as pick up one end of the stick—you pick up the other. ★
Q
PERSPECTIVE
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Texas. Department of Criminal Justice. The ECHO, Volume 92, Number 10, November 2020, newspaper, November 2020; Huntsville, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1364357/m1/3/?q=Lamar+University: accessed June 6, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.